The sun poured itself into the sea
At dusk
In distress
And with relief

Offering to the vast expanse of kindness
All the suffering that it had endured
During the day’s travel
The hourly travails

For it must unburden itself before bidding adieu
To be able to rise at dawn once again
In pristine splendour
In raw freshness

And the sea
Repeatedly accepts this burden
Twisting and turning in agony
Throbbing through the ebbs and tides

For the sea knows
That for all the pain the sun inflicts
It also gives back with gratitude
In equal measure

Through the first rays of dawn
Riding the surface of the waves
Rejuvenating, exhilarating, life-giving
Injecting vigour and enthusiasm to each new day

Subir Chakraborty / 3rd Aug 2018

The lone candle flickers hesitatingly
Imbuing your face with uncertain hues
Giving it a touch of rare mystery
Sweeping me off my unsteady feet

Not for the first time
Not for the last time either
For each day brings forth
A very new, unknown you

Which makes me fall hopelessly in love
To explore the unexplored nuance
Which I did not know existed
Which I did not know, you possessed

The candle continues to flicker, longingly
Making my love drip, drop by drop
Ever so slowly, through your enchanting eyes
Into the depths of your soul

Subir Chakraborty / 21st Dec 2019

When the past comes calling
And you are totally unprepared
When the suddenness of the event
Leaves you at a loss for words

When the bitter sweet memories
Are shorn of their halo
When confronting the truth
Leaves you hollow

When illusions are divested
Of the illusory tones
When the bare facts challenge
Impressions set in stone

When you take a long moment
To pause and think
When you are precariously poised
Right on the brink

With courage and will
Make amends if you must
For later may get too late
To shake off the dust

Of past mistakes and misconceptions
Formed over a period, in perpetuity
Which have destroyed relationships
And your own sense of tranquility

Subir Chakraborty / 23rd July 2018

What I anticipate, dread
Becomes my reality
Swallows my existence
Consumes my being

My own mind conjuring tricks
Telling me stories
Creating what, if scenarios
Imparting credibility to surreality

In this plethora of phantasms
A new one builds up each minute
Augmenting my inventory
Of my make-believe world

Surrounded by a roomful of mirrors
Each one echoing my own thoughts
I find it difficult to choose
Impossible to discern

Which ones represent truth
Which ones are just figments
Which ones I can live with
Which ones I can discard

The tree bearing the flower of illusions
Lies unsteady
Being blown by the hurricane
Of my own fears and uncertainties

Subir Chakraborty / 14th Aug 2018

The intellect struggles with orderliness
Obsessed with neatly stacked spaces
Within the mind and without
For ease of retrieval and analysis

To induce a sense of logic and rationality
To help you to navigate your life
With precision and calculation
With objectivity and patience

Love on the other hand rushes out, unannounced
From the heart’s inner chambers, unexpectedly
Breaching your dam of intellect
Flooding your mind in gushing torrents

Turning your insides into a heap of rubble
Leaving nothing but destruction in its wake
At its annihilating worst
At its creative best

Which shall you choose and when
Or do you really have a choice
Can love ever be of your own making
Or does it happen without your thinking

Which is greater and when
Who shall tell
Whoever has the wisdom
To save you from sweet hell

Subir Chakraborty / 20th Aug 2019

पूरी ज़िंदगी निकल गयी
एक ही हिसाब के पीछे
कि कितना खोया
और कितना पाया

जीवन आगे चलता गया
और मैं गणित करता गया
कि कहीं पाने की सारी ख़ुशियाँ
खोने के आँसूओं में बह तो नहीं गया

कहीं इस जीवन युद्ध में
मैं हार तो नहीं गया
कहीं मेरे रिश्तेदार, पड़ोसी, दोस्त
आगे तो नहीं निकल गए

सायंकाल में खाता खोलकर सोचता हूँ
क्या पाने की ख़ुशी के आगे
खोने का ग़म कुछ ज़्यादा था
या फिर दोनों में बराबरी का मुक़ाबला रहा

हिसाब किताब के अंतिम काल में
जब खो देंगे अपने शरीर, होशोहवास
क्या पायेगा उसके बदले में
सुख, चैन, शान्ति या नर्कवास

सुबीर चक्रवर्ती / ४ डिसेम्बर २०१९

The house seems sterile without your presence
A collection of beds, furniture and photographs
Idling lazily without any objective or purpose
Without any life, like a carcass

The radio plays the usual FM channel
Your favourite, my favourite, our favourite
Yet the tunes seem listless
The music totally soulless

The servants move around the house
Dutifully doing their chores
Yet there is no anxiety in their gait today
No urgency in their tongue

The house plants you care for
Crane their leaves every now and then
Towards the direction of the main door
Anxiously waiting for your footsteps

The house is strangely silent today
Strangely forlorn and crestfallen
Patiently waiting for the hour
When it can become a home again

Subir Chakraborty / 31st March 2019

The curse of expectations sullies our relationship
Taking it on a downhill journey
Through the jagged crevices
Of conceit and oneupmanship

Till it cannot bear the burden anymore
And cracks begin to be seen
Transforming the melody of our existence
Into a cacophonous nightmare

Where you are not the real you
And I am not the real I
Where the masks that we wear
Camouflage our sense of despair

Where the will to cause hurt
Touches a new crescendo
Where the war of words
Transforms into a battle of egos

Where the tyranny of ‘shoulds’
Governs our thoughts and behaviour
Where we do not pause even once
To give empathy a remote chance

Where I win, you lose or I lose, you win
A constant zero sum game
Is being played by both of us
Without a tinge of shame

Subir Chakraborty / 24th Dec 2018

लोग कहते हैं कि बुढ़ापा बहुत ही भयंकर है
सब उससे डरते हैं
एक दर्दनाक बीमारी की तरह
जीना हराम कर देता है

मैं कहता हूँ, बुढ़ापे से डरना कैसा
शैशव देखा, दिया जवानी का साथ
धीरे धीरे अब आया है बुढ़ापा
बिना कोई आहट या आवाज़

हो सकता है आप
कुछ कम देखे, कुछ कम मनाए त्योहार
हो सकता है कि बच्चे अनसूनी कर दे
आपकी प्यारभरी पुकार

मैं कहता हूँ, कि गले लगा लो
कर लो बुढ़ापे से प्यार
सूरज, चाँद, आसमान को देखो
देखो प्रकृति का बहार

खुली साँस लो गगन के नीचे
पंखुड़ियों से करो इश्क़
सूर्योदय का करो आह्वान
निरखो सूर्यास्त का दृश्य

पड़ाई, खेलकूद में बीता शैशव
भागदौड़ में गयी जवानी
अब आया है बुढ़ापा तो कर लो उससे दोस्ती
न दो अपनी ख़ुशी की क़ुरबानी

सुबीर चक्रवर्ती / १८ नवम्बर २०१९

Why do the classy and the rich
Like to play poor as a hobby
Why do the poor and the indigent
Dream of affluence habitually

Why does the untasted dish
Bear the promise of ambrosia
Why does the forbidden land
Seem like the ultimate utopia

Why does the full moon
From the earth look so lovely
When we all know for sure
That it is barren and crusty

Why is revelation of reality
Cruel and so very hard
When it bares the truth
Faithfully playing its part

Why do hearts grow fonder
To blossom from a distance
Why does familiarity so often
Breed hatred and contempt

Why does grass seem greener
When viewed across the river
When you can be equally content
Flourishing on this side forever

Subir Chakraborty / 25th July 2018